"More snags emerge in new Bangkok airport tests"

Friday, September 8, 2006

More snags emerge in airport tests
Airlines grouse about bag handling, check-in
BY AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK & ANCHALEE KONGRUT
Thailand - The  Post 


Several airlines joining the first full-scale luggage handling and check-in
tests at Suvarnabhumi yesterday complained about flaws which authorities
promised to sort out by the time the international airport officially opens
on Sept 28. Twenty-two out of around 100 airlines operating regular flights
to and from Bangkok joined the test handling of 4,000 units of luggage and
the check-in system at all 460 counters in a simulation of the airport
servicing 100 flights. 

The tests exposed problems with the conveyor system, which could not run
smoothly due to problems with the integration of relevant information
between Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) and the airlines, according to
airline officials. They also were unable to link their data on passengers
checking in with the airport agency. 

Luggage could not be sent from conveyor belts, Somkid Ngarmsiri-udom,
traffic supervisor of Kuwait Airways, complained. Tentative information from
his airline was not available because AoT had informed its headquarters in
Kuwait that the test was scheduled for today and not yesterday, he added. 

But he was optimistic the problem would not be repeated on the airport's
opening day because all information will be prepared in advance. 

Jisalada Srijampa, service manager of United Airlines, said apart from the
problems with integrating information, the tests ran smoothly. 

Check-in staff had to learn where to attach bar code tags on luggage to
enable the computerised luggage scanners to function, she said. 

Thai Airways International experienced some problems in the tests. A source
at the airline revealed that participating staff were not those on duty at
Don Muang airport. But Ping na Thalang, Bangkok Airways vice-president for
information systems, said his airline had no problems because its staff had
been trained at Suvarnabhumi since January. 

Other airlines joining the tests included Lufthansa, Emirates, All Nippon
Airways, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Qantas and EVA Air. 

Jaturongkapol Sodmanee, the Suvarnabhumi airport deputy director for
information technology, said the tests encountered problems, some of which
resulted from participating airlines. 

About 10 airlines had not completely integrated their information systems
with the AoT system, he said. 

Somchai Sawasdeepon, the airport's general manager, acknowledged that using
staff with little experience had caused problems. AoT will repeat full-scale
tests of the luggage conveyor system to solve problems ahead of the
airport's opening. 

Once open, Suvarnabhumi in Samut Prakan's Bang Phli district will be the
world's largest single-terminal airport. 

Anukalya Israsena na Ayutthaya, of Chulalongkorn University's engineering
faculty, expected frustrations with public transport and flight connections.


Ageing passengers and those without their own vehicles would find using
Suvarnabhumi difficult as the airport lacked easy access to public
transport. 

''Imagine you have jet lag and a lot of baggage. This airport requires you
to drag yourself and your suitcases on a shuttle bus to the taxi and bus
terminal located kilometres away,'' he told a seminar on the airport. 

Mr Anukalya, an expert on the design of highways and airport systems,
surveyed the airport last week and found that the large terminal, which is
about three kilometres from one end to the other, could cause flight delays.


Passengers on connecting flights would have to spend time walking from one
gate to another. 

Criticism of basic amenities at Suvarnabhumi has mounted as the opening
approaches, including a lack of signs and easy access to taxis, buses and
toilets. 

Attached Photo:

Staff of Thai Airways International at check-in counters await instructions
on luggage handling at Suvarnabhumi airport. The airport underwent first
full-scale tests of its conveyor belt system yesterday ahead of its official
opening on Sept 28.

080906_new04.jpg